Apparatus for forming yarns and thread into packages



NOV. 8, 1960 ERB 2,958,920

APPARATUS FOR FORMING YARNS AND THREAD INTO PACKAGES Original Filed Oct.18, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 )HHHIHHIIII ll/l/E/VTOR ERA/8T ERB fly NOV. 8,1960 ERB 2,958,920

APPARATUS FOR FORMING YARNS AND THREAD INTO PACKAGES Original Filed Oct.18, 1954 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 P I 4 I l IO 7 s 2 20 28-"; g l ,z 2 2 I S 424 I "v- 27-; s 23 i i 22 254 E Z %Q 25 4 Q 18 I Q i a 1 4 2 4, 7 I r 41j i 3 b 4 l? g/" VL 1 U, 1 r J k II* I j k "r: M

$5 I I IMVENTO/ 27 75- 29 6a 27 ERNST. 5K5

United States Patent APPARATUS FOR FORMING YARNS AND THREAD INTOPACKAGES Ernst Erb, Burglingerstrasse 113, Basel, Switzerland Originalapplication Oct. 18, 1954, Serial No. 462,884. Divided and thisapplication Sept. 29, 1959, Ser. No. 843,136

Claims priority, application Switzerland Oct. 20, 1953 2 Claims. (CI.28-21) The present invention relates to improvements in the packaging ofa continuous strand of material, such as yarns, threads, strings and thelike with a view to eliminating the conventional packaging in form ofskeins or strands which are subsequently wound into balls or ontobobbins.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 462,884,filed October 18, 1954, now abandoned.

The conventional method of packaging said string material is accompaniedby serious secondary disadvantages such as entanglement of the skein orstrand, thread breakage. A further important object of my presentinvention is to reduce the time necessary for the packaging operation.

It is already known to build up packages of threads by allowing thethread to fall by gravity into a container, the thread being distributedin regularly superposed layers by'combined rotational movement of thecontainer and of a thread guide about different vertical axes, so shateach layer comprises an annular series of substantially circular,epicycloidal and commonly overlapping rings of thread.

The apparatus according to the present invention comprises a rotatingthread guide and rotatable conveying members for forming a coil of theyarn, thread, string or the like to be packaged, the rotatable conveyingmembers forming individual thread rings on one end of the coil andmoving the individual thread rings along the length of the coil, andmeans rotatable relative to said conveying members and spring urgedtoward said conveying members and eccentric to said conveying membersfor receiving thread rings of the strand from said conveying members ina large coil the individual rings of which consist of a plurality ofcoils from said conveying members which overlap each other in a largecoil more than twice the diameter of the individual thread rings.

The apparatus according to the present invention is set forth in thefollowing specification and claims, together with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section of the apparatus forcarrying out the method according to the invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates a detail of the coiling head taken on the line H-H ofFig. 1 and Fig. 3 is a section through the coiling head on the line U-Uof Fig. 2.

As shown in Figs. 1-3, the apparatus comprises an upper portion 1 withthe coil forming elements, and a lower portion 2 which includes anaxially movable rotary cylinder 3 in which are built up the yarn coils.Lower portion 2 accommodates the drive mechanism and the cylinder guidemeans, a slidable floor 5 being mounted in said cylinder.

A thread 6 runs axially within a spindle 12 and laterally out below thesecond bearing 11 thereof, as in the case of a fiy spindle. Thread 6passes over a bell and then is wound through a thread guide eye 7 ontothe conveying members 4a, 4b below a bell 10. The con- 2,958,920Patented Nov. 8, 1960 veying members 4 are two spindles having helicalthread grooves 4c therein which convey the thread rings which togetherform a coil of thread laid on the conveying members by thread guide 7transversely to the plane of rotation of the thread guide. The startingportions of V the two thread grooves 40 (Fig. 3), which grooves run inopposite directions, are widened somewhat for the purpose of positivelyaccommodating the thread which runs from the guide 7. The threadedspindles 4 are rotated at the same speed as the thread guide bell 10 orspindle 12. The spindles 4 are rotated from a common drive head 18 whichis in the form of a housing and disposed within bell 10. Head 18 ismounted on the spindle end portion 12b on two ball bearings 19, 20. Theconveying members 4 are mounted on the shaft 21, 22 and are driven inopposite directions through a gear assembly 23 to 26 as shown in Fig. 3.Gear 23 drives gears 24 and 25 in a direction opposite to gear 23, andgear 26, being meshed with gear 25, and being rotated in the oppositedirection therefrom, thus rotates in the same direction as gear 23.Spindle 4a has the thread groove 40 therein extending in the samedirection as a left-hand thread, and spindle 4b has the thread groove 40therein extending in the same direction as a right-hand thread. At thestart of the thread rings 6a which are stretched by the outwardlyrunning spindles 4, a thread brake is provided which prevents the threadin the thread rings from being moved axially of itself in the windingplane in order that the thread rings 6a may be moved downwardly with outlateral movement (see also Fig. 2). To such end, the thread rings 6ahave to pass between a rubber roller 9 and a leaf spring 17 whichengages the latter.

The upper portion 1 further comprises a cover plate 14 which inoperation is engaged with the end of the cylinder 3 adjacent the ends ofspindles 4. Said cover plate has an opening 15 through which project theconveying members 4a, 4b, and is made of transparent material. The coverplate is secured by screws 27 to a hood 28 on the upper portion 1. Toprevent the spindles 4 from contacting the edges of opening 15, idlingrollers 8 are mounted on cover plate 4 which accommodate the thrust ofthe whole of the coiling head 18. The thread grooves 4c are deeper thanthe diameter of the thread in order to prevent the thread from rubbingagainst the edge of opening 15 and the rollers 8 when it is conveyeddownwardly. The end portions of the threaded spindles have an obliquesurface 29 as shown in Fig. 3. They project for a couple of millimetersbelow the lower edge of opening 15 and serve for depressing the package16 in the cylinder 3.

More than two threaded spindles 4 may be arranged about the center ofspindle 12, for example four or six, which alternately rotate in theopposite direction.

Cylinder 3 is slidable and rotatable in lower portion 2. It is rotatedby means of a Worm Wheel 2a being operatively connected thereto by shaft3a when the cylinder attains its topmost position, i.e. its operativeposition. The cylinder comprises a movable bottom 5 which is forcedupwardly through a spring 50. The growing package 16 then automaticallypushes said bottom downwardly. Bottom 5 is guided in cylinder shaft 3aby shaft 5a.

When the cylinder is filled with the desired or predetermined quantityof yarn, it is lowered. In order that the operator may easily move thecylinder, the cylinder is provided with a circumferential handle 3bwhich the operator may grip with both hands. Cylinder shaft 3a isprovided with grooves 30 and 3d in which is engageable a pawl 20 inorder to retain or lock the cylinder in the corresponding position. Whenmoving the cylinder upwardly or downwardly, said pawl is unlockable bymeans of a handle 2d. The latter extends out of the lower portion 2 sothat it is readily actuable by the operators knee so that the operatorhas both hands free for moving the cylinder.

As can be seen from the foregoing description of the apparatus, theconveyor elements serve to form the coil of the strand to be packaged,the thread guide forming individual thread rings on one end of the coilon the conveyor members, and the oblique surface on the end of theconveyor members serving to remove individual rings from the other endof the coil. The rotating bottom of the cylinder 3 serves to cause adepositing of the removed rings thereon in an overlapping pattern.

The invention may be utilized to build up small packages for retail orshop sales as Well as larger packages for processing, dyeing, treatingand converting operations. In the case of small packages, the threadrings are preferably laid close to the center of the movable bottom 5,but in the case of larger packages the thread rings may be kept at somedistance from the center in order that, when dyeing for example, the dyeliquor may be forced alternately from the inside to the outside and viceversa, and that, when drying, air may pass through more freely.

The thread rings need not be circular but may for example be elongatedin shape, being stacked on top of one another in order to producepackages with well hound layers.

1 claim:

1. Apparatus for forming a package of a continuous strand of materialcomprising a continuously rotating thread guide, two parallel,continuously rotatable, cylindrical thread advancing members havinghelical thread advancing grooves in their surfaces around which therotating thread guide rotates for wrapping thread rings of the strandthereon, said conveying members conveying the strand transversely of theplane of rotation of said thread guide, a driving means connected tosaid thread guide and to said conveying members for continuously drivingsaid thread guide and said conveying members at the same number ofrevolutions per unit time, and means rotatable relative to saidconveying members about an axis parallel to the cylindrical axes of saidthread advancing members and spring urged toward said conveying members,said axis being eccentric to said axes of said conveying members, saidmeans being for receiving thread rings of the strand from said conveyingmembers in a large coil the individual rings of which consist of aplurality of coils from said conveying members which overlap each other.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and a cover plate fixed relative tosaid conveyor members and eccentric with said rotatable mews and havingan aperture therein through which the ends of said conveying membersadjacent said rotatable means project and toward which said rotatablemeans is spring urged, and an oblique surface at the end of one of saidconveying members projecting through said cover plate for conveying thestrand away from the conveyor member toward said rotatable means.

References Cited in the file of this patent- UNITED STATES PATENTS1,433,723 Hubbard Oct. 31, 1922 1,601,567 Hubbard Sept. 28, 19261,607,723 Crockett Nov. 23, 1926 2,079,619 Knox May 11, 1937 2,346,336Stuart et al. Apr. 11, 1944 2,445,109 Ferguson July 13, 1,948 2,478,960Wilkie Aug. 16, 1949 2,527,662 Stevens Oct. 31, 1950 2,598,738 WilkieJune 3, 1952

1. APPARATUS FOR FORMING A PACKAGE OF A CONTINUOUS STRAND OF MATERIALCOMPRISING A CONTINUOUSLY ROTATING THREAD GUIDE, TWO PARALLEL,CONTINUOUSLY ROTATABLE, CYLINDRICAL THREAD ADVANCING MEMBERS HAVINGHELICAL THREAD ADVANCING GROOVES IN THEIR SURFACES AROUND WHICH THEROTATING THREAD GUIDE ROTATES FOR WRAPPING THREAD RINGS OF THE STRANDTHEREON, SAID CONVEYING MEMBERS CONVEYING THE STRAND TRANSVERSELY OF THEPLANE OF ROTATION OF SAID THREAD GUIDE, A DRIVING MEANS CONNECTED TOSAID THREAD GUIDE AND TO SAID CONVEYING MEMBERS FOR CONTINUOUSLY DRIVINGSAID THREAD GUIDE AND SAID CONVEYING MEMBERS AT THE SAME NUMBER OFREVOLUTIONS PER UNIT TIME, AND MEANS ROTATABLE RELATIVE TO SAIDCONVEYING MEMBERS ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO THE CYLINDRICAL AXES OF SAIDTHREAD ADVANCING MEMBERS AND SPRING URGED TOWARD SAID CONVEYING MEMBERS,SAID AXIS BEING ECCENTRIC TO SAID AXES OF SAID CONVEYING MEMBERS, SAIDMEANS BEING FOR RECEIVING